way too much free time

[danno]

for anybody that finds the the connection between our jobs and chemistry here is a link to some info on sugar that i found interesting and informative.
danno

[Suzanne]

Um, danno -- don't be such a tease!
You have to give us the link, please

(hit the button "http://" above where you enter your message/response and follow the instructions in the pop-up window. Okay??)

[danno]

http://foodsafety.ifas.ufl.edu/il/il115b.htm

sorry what the heck was i thinking

Danno

[ShawtyCat]

Danno,

You can have as much free time on your hands as you want! Very interesting information. Thanks. Off I go to finish reading through it all.

Jodi

[Isa]

This is great.


Thanks!

[W.DeBord]

Thanks for posting that danno. It was far more detailed then any candy book I've ever read. Now I finally understand why when I add lemon juice to my sugar while melting it, it works so much better then with-out. Thanks.

[danno]

no problem W. DeBord. I always enjoy gaining and giving Chemistry Info and it helps when it is laid out so the the simple man can comprehend it. another thing I read in a book the other day, Artisan Baking across America, great book. they did a survey of respected artisan bakers across America and asked what constitutes bread to be considered artisan bread. and as long at one part of the production must be done by hand. I was kinda shocked. I thought you had to have one leftover hipi chemist from the 70s on staff that still wore ty die, long hair, a head band, and every once in a while uttered the phrase Far out man. Just kidding But I think you know what I mean.
I thin you have some Chem. info I may be interested in. I can remember from far back, a different posting site you talked about casting candies into starch molds. I have been reading a book Chocolate, cocoa, and confectionery by Bernard Minifie. No recipes all chemistry. well some %s but a broad view. anyway i take it you have some experience with this. maybe you can fill me in on how you go about formulating your fillings. and I kinda get the casting part but not 100%. thanks W
Danno
nothing chocolate, nothing gained

[W.DeBord]

Danno, I'm certainly not an expert on candy making...yes, I play with it and enjoy it. I don't formulate my own filliings, I borrow from the experts...I twist the factors I know you can play with, mainly flavorings and extras.

I'll post the name later (if you want) but I have this smallish ametuer candy book that's really pretty good. I also have Elaine Gonzelles' first book on chocolate molding and confectionary. It's a good read for some basic techniques I'd never read before. BUT then that because I don't own any strickly pro-type candy making books.

Casting candy: go over to www.foodtv.com and look up J. Torres show on Chocolate. I just read this morning....where he uses flour (instead of corn starch) to cast a mold (making a frame out of chocolate). It's the same exact concept I've seen my Mom do and have read about. The cornstarch is what she did to form marshmellow eggs in. That info. came from old issues of Mail box news.

Another neat trick is usine play dough to form suckers with-in.

J. Torres show is WONDERFUL for tips/tricks! I miss seeing the show every weekend but print out dirrections when I remember off of the web.

P.S. You gave me major chuckles with the 'far out man'....that's what I thought too! HA

[danno]

thanks W DeBord. I also read the one on molding with Flour. I wonder if cake flour woulf work better since it would seem to hild it shape better with its caking up characteristics. I read in a book the other day that if using corn starch to cast molds it is better to use oiled starch this is corn starch that is impregnated with 5 to 10 % oil. not sure where that can be obtained but it is an interesting fact. but the were also a few good links for equipment. By the way do you use rapid molds? I have 3 of them but they are the ones with 96 cavitys per sheet. my dificulty with them is that each cavity seems too small. the only thing i have used the for in the past is to line them with decor sheet. and unless extremely thin there isnt much room for a filling. Just wondering if you knew of additional uses
Danno
nothing chocolate nothing gained